Phoenix Wars
by sam-free15
Summary: Hayashi Chi met the Straw Hats aboard their ship. They had found her unconscious and starving in the middle of the ocean on a makeshift raft. They thought that she was just a normal girl. They never knew that she had so many secrets, constantly fighting a source only known to herself. May change rating to M later for violence and some sexual content.
1. Encounter

I opened my eyes, my vision blurry. Immediately tensing as I noticed the people in the area around me. I reviewed them with hidden eyes and noted that they were all significantly strong, only three that I would have trouble with. With caution, I spoke quietly, "Where am I?" Something started running over to me, not able to suppress my instincts, I appeared behind it in an instant with a scalpel at its neck. "I said… Where am I." I let my hatred flow from me like smoke, they should know that I'm a threat so that they won't do anything.

"On a ship. The Going Merry." Someone said. I still couldn't see the owner of the voice.

The creature I had threatened suddenly enlarged in size and grabbed my shoulders. I attempted to wrenched myself out of his grasp. _Damn, so strong._ My vision worsened, becoming even blurrier. My knees buckling underneath me. The creature picked me up and took me to the bed. I had no more strength. "We found you passed out on a raft," a calm voice said. Obviously female. "Chopper, our doctor, said that you were sick. And that he could treat it. That was a week ago…"

"Come to think of it you almost starved to death too." Another voice cut in, higher than the ones before, "When was the last time you ate?!"

Before I could answer, someone burst through the door, "Nami! Chopper! Vivi! Did something happen?! I sensed a really strong blood lust." He looked around the room, his blonde hair whipping around at every turn, noticing my staring at him.

"No, we are fine… You're a little late though, if we hadn't cleared things up, all three of us would have been dead before you came." The newcomer kept silent. Still looking at me.

"So anyway~… When was the last time you ate?" The strange brown fluff ball asked. I was silent for a few moments, deciding it was alright to trust them for the time being - but still resolved to keep my guard up.

"3 months ago…" They stopped their small talk as they stared at me in shock. The silence was deafening.

Looking at the blond man that walked in somehow triggered something from my subconscious, my stomach burned. I couldn't help it. I screamed, not as much from the burning sensation as from the memories, that I've kept locked away, flooding back. And a feeling I've never felt before…regret.

After what seemed like forever, I passed out again and fell into a dreamless sleep.

_

According to the doctor, named Chopper as I later found out, I had some kind of ocular disease. I wouldn't be able to see for the next week or so. He told me to rest, but I insisted on walking around, to gain my strength. He led me into the kitchen and helped me sit down. "So, what would you like to eat?" The blond man followed us into the kitchen and announced, "I can make anything you request." I could hear the pride through his words, from never being proved wrong. "Anything that will help me recover faster." There was a pause. "Preferably seafood…" I heard him walk away and start to make preparations.

As I was sitting there, someone sat down, "Hello, I'm Vivi. I heard that you won't be able to see for the next few weeks…" I could hear the nervousness in her voice.

"You have no reason to be nervous. I have no reason to kill you… for now." I heard her gulp. _Good. Be intimidated._ After a few minutes there was a plate set in front of me. "Anything to drink?" Another pause as I thought. "Sake."

I could hear the irritation in his voice as he retorted, "That's not the best thing to be drinking to recover," he sensed that I wouldn't back down as I let out another wave of blood lust… mixed with irritation. "I'll let you have some when chopper gives the 'Okay'. Until then…?" I gave in. "Tea." I muttered, starting into my food.

"So, where ya from?"

I sighed and asked, "How do I know I can trust you?" My defenses skyrocketed at the mention of my past.

"We are completely trustworthy people… even though we are pirates." Vivi said with a bit of trouble, probably wondering if I was a marine.

I questioned her, "Pirates?"

"Yes ma'am."

"The Straw Hat Pirates, our founder and captain is a guy named Luffy," Vivi cautiously replied.

I gulped. "Bring me to him."

We left the kitchen and Vivi led me to the bow of the ship. A minute later, I was surrounded by people staring at me. Some with caution, others with interest. "Which one of you is Luffy?" I asked boldly and after a few seconds, someone responded in a loud, cheery voice from the other side of the room and said, "I'm Luffy. Nice to meet ya!" I got on my knees and bowed.

"Thank you for ending Arlong's reign. I am very glad that I have been able to meet you so soon!" Silence reigned. Deafening silence. Memories started coming back.  
I cringed, my breath caught. I started choking on my blood. Chopper carried me back to the infirmary. Luffy came in, suddenly having a serious demeanor. "Thank you. so, so much…" I attempted a smile, it ended in failure. Noticing a presence outside the door, I said loudly, "It's not nice to eavesdrop." The door opened and the person stepped in. She asked in a cold voice, "What did Arlong do to you?"

I attempted another smile, still failing. "He killed my family."

"At least he didn't reign over your town, taking all your money."

"You're right, better to get your village destroyed, and have everyone die…right?"

Silence. Deafening silence. Too much silence. A void that sucked everything into the pitch darkness of the world.

"You lived on the Conomi Islands?"

"Yes. I was raised in Gosa."

More silence. Deafening silence. This second reminder of what once was and the awful memories of the day when I lost everything...was too much for me to handle as the memories began flooding in and overwhelmed by the pain and bitterness festering inside of me, I screamed. And then my world went dark.

_

**A/N: Hello! Etto…. this is my first fan fiction, I really hope that you like this. I would like some reviews and feedback please:) I am a bit nervous in releasing this first chapter, I know that its a bit short, the rest of the chapters should be longer. Thank you for reading this far, even if you didn't enjoy it. :)**

**Sugu ni modotte kite kudasai! **

**Sam**


	2. Old Friends

I sat up and stretched. "Oh! You're awake," a giddy voice squealed… Chopper, if I remembered correctly. "Luffy! Wake up! She's awake!" He screamed so loud that the whole crew heard and gathered outside the door.

*Pop* …"Oh! You're up!" Once again I got down on my knees and bowed, "Thank you, again." I started to take off the bandages on my eyes, and realized, with growing excitement, that I could see perfectly again. For the first time since 8 years ago, I smiled for the first time. I kept looking around taking in my surroundings with feverish excitement. Until my eyes landed on the blonde… _He looks so familiar. Where have I seen him. _Apparently he was thinking the same thing.

"Umm… I'm Sanji… Have I met you before?" He had the same expression I had, one of confusion, and hope. The people now gathered in my room, due to my recent awakening, fell silent and stared at the blond man, looking at him with blatant curiosity.

"I'm surprised you haven't showered this girl with your pervertedness, ero-cook, " A green-haired, muscular swordsman deadpanned and continued on, saying, "I'm Zoro, by the way." I nodded, my eyes never leaving the blonde called Sanji. He looked so familiar, the hair style, the suit. I was sure that I had seen the eyebrow before.

The blonde folded his arms and looked away, deciding apparently to not respond to Zoro's statement.

An awkward silence ensued as the people surrounding me stared at the blonde guy, waiting apparently for him to flare up and yell at Zoro. The silence was soon broken by a pretty, blue-haired girl who stepped up from behind Zoro and said, "I introduced myself before, but you couldn't see me. I'm -" I cut her off. "Vivi," I said. "I never forget a voice."

"I'm Ussop!" Everyone stared at the long nosed person with the same curiosity they threw at Sanji. "What. I don't want to die!"

"Again, you have nothing to fear from me. Now that I know who you are. I will never hurt the people who took out Arlong." Everyone was still staring at me.

"What's you're name?" Luffy and Chopper asked excitedly. Ignoring the fact that I mentioned the man that made them famous,

"Hayashi Chi." I said blankly. I saw Sanji walk up to me and kneel in front of me, and gasped as I was suddenly enveloped in the blond man's arms.

"I've missed you so much," He of his hands on the back of my head, pulling me closer. "Everyone at Baratie thought you were dead! I'm so glad that I've found you."

The crew was in shock. So was I. I didn't remember him. "Sanji, you know her?!" The crew asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Sanji replied. "We were best friends, until she and her family disappeared 8 years ago. We weren't sure what happened to her, they never sent a message. Then a year later, we saw Arlong's wanted poster, naming that he had destroyed and took over the island she was from. We figured she was dead."His arms grew increasingly tighter around me. My mind was working over drive, trying to remember my life before the incident without dragging up bad memories. I took a step back from the blonde and stared hard at his face...the cigarrete dangling from his lips, the defiant look in his eyes, and his oddly shaped eyebrows. A second look at those eyebrows and I finally remembered. Of all our good times of playing and cooking together. I smiled widely at him and hugged him back.

"I've missed you too." I whispered, when I was suddenly turned around, facing away from the others. He was lifting up my shirt. I twisted back around, horror in my eyes, as I put the back of my shirt into its rightful place. He must have noticed the tattoo sticking out above the hem.

His eyes widened and he asked curiously, "Why the giant tattoo? You never seemed the type." I cringed at his words and shrunk back, clutching my stomach as I looked at anywhere but him. The thought of him finding out what the tattoo was hiding made my mouth go dry. He decided not to ask further, "Now that I think about it, you look a lot like Zoro in regards to your muscular frame." The curiosity in his eyes deepened as he looked at me.

"A lot of things happened to me in the last 8 years. You wouldn't understand." He just stared at me, dragging me up from the ground, pushing me out of the room.

"Where are you going?" someone asked. I had forgotten the rest of the crew was there, getting caught up in the memories.

"I'm taking her to the dorm," He kept dragging me along. "Don't follow, I need to talk to her in private. And DO NOT EAVESDROP!" I finally stopped struggling when I saw the look that was beyond worry in his eyes. The rest of the crew fell silent, all thinking, 'Whats going on between them' and ' He's never sounded that angry before'

He sat me down on the sofa and said, "Tell me if anyone starts listening outside the door." I nodded. He stood up, walking over to the door. He closed it, and locked it so that no one disturbed us. He came back over to me, placing his lips on my forehead, lifting up my shirt. I immediately pulled his hands away from me. He looked back up. "Chi…" He started laughing, "Thats not what I was going for. I wanted to see if the seal was still in tact." I sighed and let him lake my shirt off. His eyes went right to my stomach, not flinching at my mostly bare chest. He'd seen me naked before, when we were kids, we were practically family. *Tch*

"What's wrong?" I asked suddenly worried.

"The seal… was severely weakened…" He stared looking at the rest of my bare body. He gasped as he saw all the scars on my stomach and arms. He took off my pants too. Noticing every scar on my body. "What the hell happened to you while you were gone?" I stayed silent and turned away. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!" He screamed, his face showing more worry than before. He thought of me as his little sister back then, now that he knows I'm alive, those feelings must have become more protective in the last ten minutes.

I let more blood lust roll off me, letting him know not to ask. "Just fix the damn seal." I said quietly. Someone broke down the door, "THA HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?!" I quickly draped a blanket over my exposed body.

"Zoro, I told you not to disturb us." The rest of the crew was crowded behind him.

"I heard yelling and sensed blood lust. I thought she was gonna kill you." He looked from Sanji to me. HIs serious demeanor turned to one of amusement as he looked back at his rival. "Oh, is that what was going on here?" Sanji looked back over to me, his face flushed when he realized that I didn't have my clothes on.

"N-no!" He stuttered, "Thats not it at all!" He looked back at me, mouthing 'I'm going to tell them.' I looked at him in horror. He came over to me, "I have to, Chopper will be able to help."

"Can you just tell Chopper, and not the rest of them?" I whispered, "They barely know me, I don't want them to fear me right off the bat." He nodded.

He turned back to the rest of the group, "It's a medical condition, I was helping her with the medicine."

The rest of the crew looked suspicious. "Oh, okay!" Luffy replied, walking away, pretending to not be interested in the least. The rest of the group wandered off, not seeing much of a problem. Except Zorro and Chopper, the doctor, who was staying to help with the medication. Zorro stepped in closing the door and locking it.

"Tell us the truth." Zoro muttered, with his arms folded. He saw through it. Shit.

"I can only tell you if Chi allows it." Sanji said calmly. He handed me my pants, never taking his eyes off me. I nodded.

After I put on my pants, I cast the blanket to the side, letting them see my stomach. They both cringed. "What… is that?" Zoro asked, curiosity peeking through his otherwise stoic tone.

Chopper was stunned silent, staring at the unnatural 'thing' on my stomach. It looked like a tattoo, but it was unleashing a steady flow of hatred, blood lust - even if it wasn't alive. "A seal."

"I thought seals were animals?" Zoro questioned, genuine confusion crossing his face.

"Not that kind of seal, konno baka*." Sanji deadpanned, kicking him lightly at the crown of his head. "Now be quiet," He looked back up at me. "I'm going to tighten it now." I nodded.

"Tighten it?" Chopper asked. Sanji glared at the doctor, silencing him.

I was nervous, "You do remember what you're doing… right?" He looked up to give my a cheery nod. His look conveyed everything; worry, and happiness. He grabbed me into another hug, "Everything will be alright."

"Just get it over with." I hissed at him. With that, he went to work. Cutting the palm of his hand and placing it over the seal. HIs fingers were absorbed by the ink covered skin, he started whispering a chant in another language, an ancient language. He twisted his hand, the circular seal started to shrink. My back arched. The pain was inhuman. He started another chant. Finally ending with, "Stop your complaining, you damn beast!" I was out of breath, coughing up blood again. Chopper ran up to me, "Are you - " Sanji cut him off. "When was the last time you got it tightened?" He stared at me as I caught my breath.

"8 years ago. The last time I was at Baratie." I closed my eyes, blood all over. Sanji put my shirt back on me and took me to the infirmary. Chopper was right behind, thinking of medicines to stop the bleeding. "You've been like this for 8 years?" Chopper asked.

I replied weakly, "It was worse _before_ the seal. This isn't nearly as bad." I laughed. He looked even more worried, the thought of something worse than what he was seeing was enough to make him blanch. When we reached the infirmary again, Chopper rushed inside to get some pain killers. "Take these." He said. I shook my head. He shoved them into my hand.

Sanji explained, "Pain killers weaken the seal. Plus, she has to get used to the pain again. I have to tighten it every week." Chopper stared at me and gulped, worried for what I had to go through and not being able to help.

"Can't you remove whatever's inside of you?" I shook my head, too much blood in my throat to speak. Sanji sat down at the end of the bed, ruffling my hair. "Why not?" he attempted to ask again. I slapped his hand aside, the feeling annoying…yet oddly comforting. _Mostly annoying._

"We _can_ take it out… but then she'll die. Then the rest of the world will too." Sanji replied.

Silence filled the room. Deafening silence.

Luffy then bounded into the room, "Sanji! MESHI!" He looked around the room. He finally noticed all the blood on my hands and around my mouth. His eyes grew wide, "What happened to you?!" All three of us ignored him. Sanji got up to leave, "I'll bring your food in here, okay?"

Chopper came over to give me a towel, "You should probably take a shower. Get cleaned up before you talk to everyone again." He led me to the shower, then left without a word. To scared by what he had seen to utter anything.

_

**A/N: Hello again! Its been about a day since I last updated. I was going to update later, but then I thought that I would do it sooner. I don't want to keep any future readers waiting:) So, please review, I like the constructive criticism. It helps my writing get better, and hopefully more interesting. As I mentioned last time this chapter is a bit longer than the last, which was pathetically short. They should hopefully continue to get longer. I will probably update again within the next few days. **

***konno baka = you idiot**

**Sugu ni modotte kite kudasai! **

**Sam**


	3. Always the Same

It'd been a while since I'd had a shower, so the water pounding on my skin felt good and left me feeling refreshed. I didn't get to relish it for long, as I realized how hungry I was. The tightening took all my energy. I got out of the shower, putting on the clean set of clothes which were set neatly down near the door. Snatching a towel, I exited the bathroom.

I strolled into the kitchen, lazily rubbing my hair dry, "Yo, when will the food be done?" Silence. I glanced around, eyebrows raised. Sanji seemed to be immersed in his cooking Nami answered me after a moment, "Should be soon…"

"Great, I'm starving." I walked over to the table and perched at the edge, away from everyone else, feeling like an outsider. I started to process the information that I learned today. When I first found out that the Straw Hats had defeated Arlong, I had heard the name Sanji. W_hy does that name sound so familiar-_was a question I could not stop thinking about.Until now, that is. A hand on my shoulder snapped me out of my daydreaming and instinctively, I whirled around-knife at the ready-only to be blocked by a familiar sword. Zoro stood in front of me with narrowed eyes, one of his swords blocking my knife, and from behind his shoulder, peeked out Luffy with wide eyes. I blanched and immediately dropped my defensive stance, "Sorry...bad habit," I muttered as I glanced away, fists clenched. Zoro gave me a look that said, _Really_?/_What pushed you into that habit?_ I gave him a look in return which clearly said-l_ong story._ "Anyway, what do you want?"

From the side where she stood, slouching against the table, Nami spoke up just as Luffy opened his mouth, "Where did you say you were from again?" Luffy's question going unheard.

"Gosa village, the Conomi Islands in East Blue." I stared down at the table, begging for the onset of the memories not to begin. Not here. Not now.

"What happened when Arlong came?" Nami questioned curiously.

I gulped and muttered, "He beat and killed my family, we didn't have enough money to pay for all of us."

Wide-eyed, Nami stared at me, "How are you still alive then?"

I kept staring at the table, wishing desperately that this conversation would end, "I tricked them into believing I was dead. I escaped in a small boat after that…" I didn't like the fact that I was lying to them… but how could I tell them about my past, would they hate me? Would they turn me in? I didn't know. "Why are you so interested?" I shot back.

"I lived in Cocoyasi Village, Arlong forced me to draw maps for him. For 8 years. Until these people defeated him." Nami gestured to the people around her, smiling up at Sanji as he placed the food down in front of her. "Here you go Nami-chwan~" He said cheerily. A beat passed, and I felt the laughter bubbling up inside of me...and for the first time in ages, I laughed. I laughed from the bottom of my heart.

They all stared at me as I just sat there and cackled. "What?" Sanji questioned. I smiled widely in response and raised myself up from the table. I shook my head as I went over to his side to slap him on the back.

"No matter how many years have passed, you're still the same Sanji." I chuckled.

He scoffed, "And you're still a pain in the ass." He stuck his tongue out at me. "Speaking of…. how old are you now?"

"16." I replied.

"Damn, are you really 3 years younger than me?" The rest of the crew stared at the anomaly that was going on before them. _Sanji, NOT cooing over a girl, but calling her a pain in the ass… WHAT IS THIS?! _"Anyway…" Sanji spoke again, "The food's getting cold. You should eat, regain your strength." He smiled at me… I still thought it was the most adorable smile in the world.

"Then a spar… like old times." I said with a smirk. His smile turned to a grin.

"No weapons, just hand to hand." I sighed, then nodded. Upset that I couldn't wreak havoc, but understanding that he didn't want to destroy the ship.

I took a bite of the food, the rest had started eating long before me. "You're cooking has gotten better… I see you remember the sauces I showed you." He nodded, sitting down to join the rest of us.

"… Baroque Works Agents…" someone said… I wasn't listening to the rest of the conversation.

"What about Baroque Works?" I asked. Nami and Vivi looked at me.

"We were talking about the information that we have on them, it's not much, but we are gonna make use of it." Vivi replied proudly.

"They're trying to take over Alabasta… right?" They all stared at me.

"How do you know about them?" Nami asked, suddenly in my face.

"I've been working for Baroque Works for the last 2 years." They stared at me. "I was Bon Kurei's partner, Miss Poison. The myth, they called me. No one could figure out what I looked like or where I came from. Mr. 2, Mr. 1, Mr. 0, and Miss All Sunday are the only ones who know what I look like."

"Wait…What?!"

"Sanji," I said calmly, "I told you a lot of things happened in the last 8 years." Vivi looked at me in terror.

"We are going to arrive in Alabasta in 3 days. Our objective is to stop them from taking over." I suddenly realized why I recognized her.

"Aren't you the princess of Alabasta?" I asked. She paled and nodded. "I thought so. Oh, shit…" I smacked my head. "I'm so sorry for what I was involved in against your country! I thought what they were doing was terrible… which is why I killed a few of our members to try to slow the process down. But then Mr. 1, the bastard, turned me in to Mr. 0 and Miss All-Sunday. Then I was locked up with no food and a bunch of bananawani for 3 months." I added a nervous laugh at the end trying to not make the room as tense. They all stared at me.

Silence. Deafening silence.

"She survived longer than me without food…" Zorro muttered.

"Who did you… take out?" Vivi asked, with a hint of poorly hidden caution.

"Mr. 6, Mr. 7, Mr. 10, Mr. 11, Mr. 12 and their partners… along with a bunch of millions and billions." I shrugged. but everyone still stared. Nami, Vivi, Usopp, and Sanji went pale. "Honestly, it was easy. They didn't know what hit them." Everyone looked shocked. Except Zoro who, with seeing her reaction to Luffy tapping her shoulder, wasn't surprised… But his question was answered. He should probably get Chopper to get her checked out. "Anyway, now we don't have to deal with them." The rest of the meal went through in silence.

"Maybe we shouldn't spar tonight," Sanji said to me ten minutes after the end of dinner. "You should get some rest."

"Oh, come on, you pussy." I laughed, positioning my self into a stance of authority, "I can still beat you in under 5 minutes."

"You need to rest," Chopper squealed at me. "No training until tomorrow!"

I lunged at Sanji, bringing up my foot to kick him, forcing him to block. "Come on Chi! I remember that you were a pain-in-the-ass, but this is just too much!"

"I'm not gonna back down until you start attacking back at me!" I sprang forward onto my hands for a roundhouse kick. "I can handle anything you give to meh!"

After a few more kicks he got on the offensive. After 5 minutes I had him pinned on the ground, my fist staring at his face. "Fine you win." He sighed.

"When I'm fully recovered, I don't want you holding back." I turned and walked away, "I'm sleeping in the boys dorm tonight." I walked through the door that Sanji had taken me through earlier and disappeared for the rest of the night. Mostly recapping what happened during that day. Sleep only came slowly for me, eventually in the early hours of the morning...

I woke up early, the sun was barely visible on the horizon. I went to the back of the ship to start training. _I can't be soft when when all hell brake loose in Alabasta._ I started with the smallest weight, which was still about 200 pounds. Easy. I started to make my way up to the heaviest one, twirling it around with more difficulty than the other weights, but pretty smoothly all the same. "It's not nice to watch people from behind the corner, Zoro." I turned around to face the swordsman who owned the weights, he was already coming at me, drawing his swords. I fended him off with my dagger. After a few minutes of stabbing and blocking, he said to me gruffly, "I can tell that that isn't your weapon of choice."

"Well, if I was to bring out _Doku no Hi_ the ship would be destroyed… I don't want to get on the captain's bad side."

"Eh~, Poison Fire. Interesting name for a weapon." Zoro had a gleam in his eye, one of curiosity for the enigma on the ship. We spared and trained with each other until everyone else got up. We went to the kitchen, and at the same time we sat down saying, "Sake." We eyed each other suspiciously for a moment, then burst into spontaneous laughter. "You found a nice woman here, Sanji!" In the blink on an eye my laughter stopped to get up and punch him, knocking him to the ground. He got back up swinging his sheathed sword at me, "You got a problem with something I said, teme*?!" I blocked with my leg.

"Yeah I do, Marimo!" He kept swinging and I kept kicking. Until finally Nami broke us up.

"Mou*! Chi, you're just like Sanji! Getting into fights with Zoro!" I sat back down, taking a swig of my sake. Zoro did the same. "You're also surprisingly just like Zoro…" _Strange._ She thought.

"Chi!" I looked down to see a very worried looking Chopper gaping up at me, "Come to the infirmary after breakfast. I want to do a check up."

"Hai, Hai." I went to eat my breakfast.

I told them everything I knew about Baroque Works, the numbered Agents, Crocodile, Nico Robin. And their _true_ objective. The Poneglyph.

After breakfast, I helped Sanji clean the dishes and the kitchen. Then, for once, I did what I was told and went to the infirmary.

Right when I walked in, I was barraged by questions. "Have you coughed up any more blood?" I shook my head. "Did training this morning make you feel tired or dizzy at all?" I shook my head again. "Okay then, I'm just going to take a blood sample." He Inserted the needle into my skin. "Tell me if you start to feel dizzy." He was done with me in less than 5 minutes.

I went to the crows nest to polish and clean _Doku no Hi,_ I had't gotten a chance to clean him in ages_._ The day passed with the only incident being, meeting Bon Kurei. We considered it a blessing. We could counter his _akuma no mi* _by wearing bandages with X's tattooed under them. He would never think to look under the bandage.

**A/N: Hello again! I wanted to get another chapter out soon, I've been on a roll. I hope that you are enjoying the story so far. Please don't forget to review and follow. I would also appreciate suggestions for making the story better. THANK YOU! **

***Mou = Geez**

***Akuma no mi = devils fruit**

**Sugu ni modotte kite kudasai! **

**Sam**


	4. The Phoenix

The next day we arrived in Alabasta, a beautifully tragic country. Nanohana, the port city, was especially beautiful.

We docked the ship, Luffy was already gone, looking for food. This was apparently normal… for Luffy any way. We went into town to get provisions and water for crossing the desert. On our way into town, Zoro leaned in and said, "That guy looks like trouble." I followed his gaze. A man was talking to a woman, a fortune teller, handing over Luffy's wanted poster. Jet black hair… Large tattoo with a cross and a curved line through it. "Ace!" I whispered excitedly. I soru-ed over to him.

"OYE!" I called attention to myself. "Hey Ace! Sup?" I grinned at the tall man.

"Do… I know you?" He looked at my confused. I frowned.

"It's me. Chi." I sighed at him, even after all this time. He _still _ had the worst memory.

He looked down and smiled, ruffling my hair. "You… look so different! I didn't recognize you." I smiled up at him. "So… what brings you to Alabasta?"

"I'm here with Luffy." Zoro, with his marimo hair glowing blindingly in the sun, yelled from a ways back; asking if I was coming. I waved at him - signaling them to go ahead. "You wanna grab some grub?" Ace nodded at that. We turned to the direction of the closest restaurant.

"Did you join their crew?" Ace asked. I thought about it.

"I've only been on board for a few weeks. They found me passed out in the middle of the ocean." Ace looked at me, eyes wide, pushing me to continue. "… I hadn't eaten in 3 months due to unfortunate circumstances…. I guess I have, they generally accept me, they're fun to be around, and I don't have a home to go to. I don't want to go back, I don't want to think about it. So yeah. I have." We entered the restaurant and sat at the bar. We ordered.

"Have you told them?" He asked.

"No. Three of them know about the seal. But no, none of them know about my enslavement." I stayed silent until the food came. "How's everyone doing?"

Ace stopped eating, "Teach killed Thach for his _akuma no mi."_ I looked down.

"So, now it's your responsibility to track him down." I nodded in understanding. Afraid for Ace's well being. _He's probably had this on his mind, he's probably barely gotten any sleep. Stressing out about it since it happened._

"Fire Fist, Portogas D. Ace." A voice grumbled. Both of us turned around, my blood lust flowing. Trying to intimidate him. "And Dragon Slayer, Hayashi Chi. Two very high bounties in one place, this must be my lucky day." Ace and the marine were suddenly, out of nowhere, launched through the wall of the restaurant. Luffy then sat down at the bar next to me. He demanded, "Meat." He looked over at me, "Oh, hey Chi." I chuckled.

"You know that you just sent 2 people through the wall, right?"

"Who did?"

"You."

"When?"

I sighed, "Just now."

"Oh." He started shoveling food in his mouth. _I give up._

Ace got up from beneath the rubble, "LU-" He was shoved back down by the marine. "MUGIWARA!" He yelled, rushing us.

I quickly got behind him, my dagger at his neck. He started to turn to smoke. I pressed harder on the blade, drawing blood. "Damn. Kairouseki."

"Don't try anything funny." I let him go. Luffy had already started running. Other marines already on his tail. "We should probably make sure he doesn't het into more trouble." We started running after him, the other marine after us. "This way." We took a short cut down an alley hoping to cut off the marines, since Luffy just happened to be heading straight for the rest of the crew. Ace and I jumped in front of the marines, cutting them off from pursuing Luffy and the rest of them. "Chi, take them and get out of here!"

"Wagata!" I turned, "Run!" I ordered.

"A-ACE!" Luffy yelled.

"Luffy, get your crew out of here! I'll meet up with you later!" He turned to flames blocking the marines from view.

"Come on Luffy!" I dragged him along with the rest of the crew.

Nami looked over at Luffy, "Who was that?" Luffy looked over at her and grinned.

"My brother!" He replied cheerily.

We ran back to the ship, ready to set sail. Then we noticed that Luffy was missing… _DAMNIT! _

"Set sail," I said, "Ace will get him back here." I squinted into the distance. "See, there they are now."

"Gomu Gomu no ROCKETO!" Luffy launched himself onto the ship. Ace following soon behind.

Luffy stared at me, his eyes conveying so much understanding and anger, betrayal also showed through. "I told Luffy. About you and how we met." Ace said to me.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" I wasn't mad. I completely understood why he told him. I was just panicked.

"I figured that at least he ought to know." Ace replied, worry crossing his eyes briefly.

"I was going to tell them, just not yet."

Sanji asked the unbearable, "What were you going to tell us?"

I paled, panicking even more. Ace gave me a nudge, "It's okay, they'll understand."

I took a deep breath. "Remember when I told you that I had escaped Arlong?" The crew nodded. "I lied." Sanji and Nami paled. "Arlong…" My throat was constricting. "Arlong… sold me into slavery." They stared at me.

Silence. Deafening Silence.

_No. You damn monster. You WILL NOT come out to play._ I was mentally screaming at the monster inside of me.

Sanji stepped forward, "Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell me?" I couldn't say anything, nothing would come out.

Very soon after that, I wasn't in control of my body.

Ace stepped forward slipping into a fighting stance. "Damn, Bird." Sanji did the same beside him. "Step back. She's dangerous."

"I know she is. Which is why I'm going to tighten the seal again." Sanji didn't move form his position.

Ace looked over at the blonde standing beside him… _I'll save asking for later._ "I'll keep her from moving while you tighten the seal." Ace lunged forward.

The monster spoke as it easily blocked the attack. "I have a name, you know." It's voice left a chill in the air. It spotted Sanji and Ace among the crowd of people. "Ah, Sanji-kun, Ace-kun!" It smiled at them. "I'm sorry, but even if you do succeed, I won't be sealed for very long." They stared at it, waiting for it to continue, never letting their guard down once. "She'll be dead by the end of the year. I won't start struggling again until that point." It laughed, a manic laugh. Her hair started to turn from black to the normal peachy color again. Eyes returning to gold from a royal magenta. "I really only wanted to tell you how little time she had… And that I'll be waiting." I slowly regained control of my body. I looked around noticing everyone staring at me, like a deer in the headlights, trying to make sense of the spectacle that had occurred before them. They know know that Sanji and Ace have already dealt with me in this state.

"What the hell was that?!" Usopp screamed. Looking me straight in the eye. I could only shake my head, to mortified by what just happened.

"There's a monster sealed inside of her…" Zorro walked up to Usopp.

Ace continued the explanation, "Uranus," Ace turned around to face them. "one of the Ancient Weapons… Chi, did you hear what he said?" I could only nod, only cringing at the fact that I still had so many secrets that I was hiding from them. I silently willed Sanji to not be angry and for him to understand that i didn't want him to worry about me. he has enough to worry about as it is.

There was only silence deafening silence. Everyone on the ship was processing what they witnessed. Luffy was the first one to start moving, he walked towards me. A serious look on his face, his black eyes staring into my gold. I couldn't read him, even with my Haki. "Why didn't you tell us? Why did you put up a wall?" I looked at me intently, waiting for me to answer.

"I didn't want to be rejected. I didn't want you to be afraid of me. I AM A MONSTER! I WAS A SLAVE! MY LIFE IS A WRECK! HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND?!" I was suddenly on my back against the deck, my face burning. Luffy still looking at me. _Why is he so unreadable? _"Luffy! Why would-" Ace was cut off by Zoro holding a sword in front of him.

Luffy stepped closer, eyes still shrouded in shadows, "Baka." He came down to put his hat on my head, "We are your nakama now, we will always accept you. No matter what happens." He got up and turned around, stretching his arms to go destroy the Baroque Works ships heading towards us. Ace also went off to show off by destroying the entire fleet in one fell swoop. I was numb, spacing out, as the rest of the crew ran around getting ready to high-tail it out of there.

**A/N: Ummm….. Yeah. Review please so that I can make the series better. There is some Luffy nakama love in here for ya… I thought that would be nice since everything has been so tense.**

**To Bakatsune: Thank You for reviewing! I am glad that one of my ideas is original! (for now anyway…) Please keep reading! :)**

**Sugu ni modotte kite kudasai! **

**Sam**


	5. Desert Fever

We set sail for the largest river in Alabasta, Sandora. It practically split the island in half. Carue was no longer traveling with us after Vivi sent him to the palace with information on the war, and Baroque works. We started to get ready to leave, everything seemingly normal, which was strange for this particular crew. The calm was broken by the sounds of a commotion coming from the deck of the ship-from Sanji no less.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU NAMI-SAN!?" Sanji screamed, eyes bulging, "WHERE ARE YOUR DANCING CLOTHES!?" _Oh, he was just being a pervert again…_ He turned around to where Vivi was emerging from behind the mast, "NOO! NOT VIVI-CHAN, TOO! WHY ARE YOU WEARING THAT!?" O_nce a pervert, always a pervert. _

I went up to hit him in the back of the head. "Stop bothering them, they would be burned in the desert sun if they didn't cover up." While Sanji had bought the clothes for everyone, he knew better than to get some kind of dancer clothes for me. I would have dropkicked him into next year…and he knew it. I hated revealing clothing because of all of the scars and the seal. "It gets to be over 50 degrees in the day and below freezing at night. We need to be careful with our food and water rations too…" I tapered off for a moment thinking of another information we may need. I turned to Luffy, "No midnight snacking. you got that?" He nodded, obviously not realizing what that meant for him.

"Let's get ready to land." Zoro ordered in his authoritative voice, clearly the voice of the captain at the moment since he was busy changing into his desert travel clothes. Everyone nodded and went back to the preparations. Looking over the edge of the ship, I noticed a bunch of turtle-seal looking things… _Oh, shit. _"Vivi," I called wanting her opinion on what to do before the captain or Usopp did something stupid by deciding to fight them. She walked over to where I was standing, looking at my strange expression, one she had never seen before on me, "Ku-Fu Dugongs." I stated pointing down at them. Before she could say anything, the rest of the crew was over by us.

"Turtles?" Zoro asked.

"You mean seals, right?" Luffy demanded.

I looked at Vivi to let her tell them, "Ku-Fu dugongs, a very strong animal species on this island."

Chopper translated the squeaking, that was coming from the head of the pack of strange animals "You must fight and defeat me if you wish to disembark here! If you're too afraid, go dock on the other shore, you wimps." By the end of the next 5 second Usopp was on the ground utterly defeated by one of the creatures.

"Looks like we have a winner over here…" Nami stated blandly. I sighed and shook my head at her.

"Winning is almost worse, they have to become an apprentice of whoever defeats them." She face palmed. Then Luffy did the most… Luffy like thing. He started to train them. after about a half hour of training, we were ready to set out for Yuba.

"Yosh! Lets go to Yuba!" Luffy screamed with his little army of adorable dugongs behind him. All of them, including Luffy, looking so innocent. I was laughing my ass of at the sight, it was just too funny.

Zoro just stared at them for a moment. "You're gonna take them along, too!?" The irritation in his voice was noticed by all, but only I caught the slightest hint of amusement.

"You can't Luffy!" Nami chided.

"These dugongs couldn't possibly handle the harsh weather of the desert." I told him, wiping my eyes from the tears of laughter. The rest started to try to figure out a way to leave them behind. I still stood in the back laughing. Noticing a presence next to me, my laughter stopped, hand on my dagger. Ace stood behind me, a hand on one of his hips, looking at me with some sort of… _was that longing?_ Whatever I saw in his eyes, it was gone in a flash as I looked up at him smiling down at me. I grinned up at him, my old friend. He was the one who found my out in the ocean, in pretty much the same state Luffy had found me. He wouldn't let anyone touch me except Marco, Oya-san, and the ship's doctor. My pleasant flashback was disrupted by the Fireball in front of me.

He chuckled, then he started laughing which then turned into a cackle, "You really have grown up," He chuckled some more, then he just smiled that beautiful smile of his, "Will you take care of my brother? Keep him out of trouble?" This was Ace for, _Are you going to stay in the crew?_ My smily widened to a grin. _God, I haven't felt this good in years!_ I nodded to him, looking forward to all of our adventures, even if they weren't with Ace. "Will you let him take care of you?" His tone was suddenly serious, smile gone. I wasn't gonna let him intimidate me. I feared the challenge, but I accepted it with a nod and a look, that could be considered a glare by some, with the fire of determination. He nodded back at me with the same look, he was going to get Teach… at any cost.

We turned back to the crew, they were still deciding on how to get rid of them. Nami and Vivi felt bad because they thought that they were really cute. A few more minutes passed, we started to leave for our desert exposition, deciding to give them some meat to fight over while we slipped away. They said teary goodbyes but never followed.

"Thanks to you," Sanji glared at Luffy, "Our food supply has gone way down." Irritation clear as day in his expression and voice. He went back to walking, grumbling to himself.

Ace, who was walking beside him, looked at him, "Nothing but trouble, isn't he?" He looked somewhat amused.

Sanji just shook his head, "Mattaku*." I chuckled at the sight, some of my oldest and best friends, bonding over some gaki*.

We kept walking, after about a half hour we started to hear complaints of, "It's too hot" or "I'm not built for this kind of weather" this was mostly coming from Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper. In my opinion, Chopper was the only one allowed to complain, he was built for harsh winters, not for the desert. I stopped, turning around to face them, putting one the creepiest, most deadly smile i could muster, "Oh? What's this? Do I hear complaining?" Let some of the blood lust flow… Several people who were complaining, and some who weren't, looked at me with fear. They shook their heads. "Good." I smiled at them and nodded, turning back and walking to the front with Ace and Sanji. Both of whom were laughing their asses off, I hit them in their heads, "Knock it off you two!" Zoro was also smirking at the sight. I walked ahead of the rest of them, who were either to afraid or to busy laughing to follow.

I looked ahead of me, noticing the ruins that were their. _This must have once been a beautiful oasis._ My thoughts were proven right when Vivi ran up to where I was standing, noticing the same beautiful ruins I was.

"This is Erumalu." She looked at the ruins longingly, "It was once known as the Green City." _A nice…? little fun fact, I guess. Doesn't help us much at the moment though. _

Luffy, who was apparently listening, spoke up, "Green City?" Vivi nodded.

"You can see in this city just how much Baroque Works has done to this country. And how much my people are suffering because of it." We continued though the city.

"There really is nothing here…" Luffy said in his usual care free tone.

"Yes," Vivi replied. "Even though its state now… Up until its collapse, it was a lively town full of lush green plants…" I started to drown out her talking, too immersed by the city. It was so familiar. Even the name. Looking around I notice some strange marks on the buildings, one was a hole that looked like it was completely melted through. My mouth went dry, as I remembered back to last year. I remembered waking up in a city that was freshly destroyed, some eroded away by poison, some by fire. Some of the buildings were cut through in several thin strips. I hadn't found any blood other than my own, or any dead bodies… I would know I had searched for hours. I ran forward to the ruins. _That city had so many lush green plants, until after I destroyed it._

"OYE! Chi! Where are you going?!" Usopp shouted behind me. I just kept running, looking at the ruins. I ran around for what seemed like forever, finally managing to find what I didn't want to. A crater in the middle of what used to be Erumalu, thousands of feet deep. I knelt down in front of it burying my face in my hands, not sure of how to explain this. I knew everything that was happening in this country, I could explain that to her perfectly, but explaining how I single-handedly destroyed an entire city in a matter of minutes. I couldn't do it, Vivi, I don't want her to hate me. She already forgave me sir being in the criminal organization that is destroying her country, I can't let her hate me for destroying this once beautiful city. After a while I heard foot steps behind me, someone was running towards me. I didn't move to block or attack, accepting the judgement that was surely to come.

The footsteps stopped. I just sat there, waiting for Vivi, I realized, to say something. Anything. For several minutes, only deafening silence ensued. She plopped down next to me and hugged me. Not saying anything. But saying everything with one simple gesture. After a few minutes she pulled out of the hug to look at me, "It's okay." She whispered in the most motherly voice I've ever heard. "Ace showed us what you had noticed and explained the situation to us. You couldn't help it, it wasn't you." At that moment, I knew just how much she cared for us, for me. How good of a ruler she would be. Nami soon got down and hugged me too. Soon everyone joined in. With the exception of Zoro, he was too manly for that.

"We will always be here for you." Nami said. _Again, so motherly._ Their voices and heat coated me like a blanket, and in that moment I was grateful that Ace had found me two years ago, helped me for the most part get my life my life back. _I will protect these people to the end. I will not let a single one of them die._ At this point, my fate is sealed. I'm deciding it myself. I will face whatever comes, never backing down. Never turning my back on these people. The people that I love.

We were having a nice little moment there, until someone decided to interrupt. "So… are you three just gonna sit there crying? Or are we gonna get on with our lives?" Zoro looked at us with his usual annoyed look. I got up, as did Vivi and Nami - who were still crying. _What can I say? We were having a moment here._

"Yes." I said. "I am going to get on with my life," the crew just stared at me, wondering what I was going on about. "I want to join this crew." I pulled out a dagger, "I hope that you continue to accept me, even with knowing all of my secrets." I gathered all of my hair into my free hand. "I will not let my past get in my way. I need to get rid of the one thing that holds my past that always gets in my way." I raised the blade to the back of my neck, I started to bring the blade up through my hair. They all looked at me, curious to my reasoning. _Even though I just explained it to them._ Sanji and Ace had the saddest look on their faces, they knew that with the cutting off of my hair, I was also getting rid of my ties to my family. My entire family had long hair, even my little brother and father. I had never cut my hair before. My family had also loved my hair, it had been the prettiest and the softest, it had been like silk, while the rest of them had very thick and course hair. Most of my memories of my family had been something to do with my hair… _Weird right?_ Anyway, "My past will not get in the way of my future with all of you." I looked at them, feeling my heart love again for the first time in along time.

There was only silence. But it wasn't deafening like before. It was calming. _I will live the rest of my life with these people. I will protect them for the rest of my life._

___

**A/N: Hello Mina-san! I hope you are having a good week. Starting today I am only going to be posting once every week, I just wanted to update every few days to make it not be weird, having only 1 chapter. So here you go. Chapter 5. This is my favorite chapter so far. Chi is determined to protect these people standing in front of her… Remember that. She will do anything for them. Thank you for reading this far! I hope you like the story so far! Don't forget to review, I always like hearing your opinions on my work, as well as things I can improve on. I will upload again next week. Thank you:)**

***Mattaku = Seriously**

***Gaki = Kid (brat)**

**Sugu ni modotte kite kudasai! **

**Sam**


	6. Night Terrors

We stopped to make camp just as the sun started going down. Everyone was gathering their strength and their breath for the next day of travel. Sanji and I started to make dinner for the rest of the crew and Ace, since he technically was just a guest. There was small talk, but not much. Until the peace was disturbed by Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper - Fighting over who gets to get Choppers warmth, and Chopper not wanting to be close to either of them at the moment.

Sanji turned to me, "How do you think we should cook this?" I looked at the giant lizard that attempted to attack us earlier today. I jerked my head towards the fire. "Roast?" I nodded.

"The flavor should come out well with the smoke." He started prepping the fire. "But," He looked back at me. "We should probably only cook some of it… We never know the next time we are going to come across more food." He smiled at me, I was always thinking ahead. Prepared for the worst. I looked at the camel that was now traveling with us… _Eyelashes, was it? _I kept staring at it. Sanji followed my gaze. "Hey, worst case scenario, we cook him." At this the camel turned to us, horror at what he heard dancing across his face. He went ignored. We kept cooking for the people around us as they goofed off, trying to keep warm. Chopper was often a mobile heating source. I chucked at their quarreling, Usopp calling the blue nosed doctor a monster when he suddenly increased in size. I kept glancing around the circle of people around a fire that was my family. I started thinking about my pledge to them, _I will protect them to my dying day._ I was suddenly brought back when I noticed Sanji in front of me, waving a hand before my face.

"Yo," I said, concern lacing his words. "You okay?" I nodded, putting a smile on my tanned face. He nodded back, looking at the giant reptile I was roasting. "It's burning, by the way…" He stalked away only looking back when I was occupied with panicking with the burnt…. you couldn't even call it flesh anymore. _Good thing its only one side of it… and Luffy will eat anything._ Taking the charred reptile off the fire, Sanji called to the rest of the crew, signaling it was time to eat. They all rushed over, even Zoro, who was still asleep a few seconds before.

I waited there for a few moments before deciding to sit on the tallest rock formation that surrounded us, trying to calm my nerves. I sat there for a few moments, concentrating on the presence that was keeping watch on us. I looked back down at the people I loved, sitting together chatting, not realizing that someone was missing. I hopped down off the rock, landing gracefully on the ground, trying to be as quiet as possible. Hiding my presence I quickly appeared behind the man covered from head to toe in black, damn government agents found me this quickly, eh? I'm honestly not that stunned, Smoker probably called the incident, that occurred at Nanohana, in to Enies Lobby or something. "Why are you here?" I interrogated the man shoving a knife next to his throat.

I was still standing where I was ten minutes before, shocked, when I noticed the hands crossed around my waist from behind me, and hot breath on my neck.

"Hey," the not-so-mysterious man said, concern lacing his words, along with something else that I couldn't put my finger on… _Again._ "Why are you out here by yourself?" Ace questioned. I turned to face him, burying my emotions, he didn't need to see me break down again.

"I was taking a walk." I lied, looking down. "I'm really tired, I'm gonna go back to get some sleep." I yawned walking away, but sleep was the last thing I needed, I needed to train. Train so that I can protect my nakama. In the tent I pretended to be asleep when Sanji came in to sleep himself. In truth I was training, trying to expand my haki to make sure that I knew when there was an enemy. So I could be there when the trouble started.

There weren't anymore government officials that night.

_

We got up early the next morning, trying our hardest to get to Yuba, fast.

Eyelashes was Carrying Nami and Vivi, they were talking about the guy who was leading the rebels... Who was apparently her childhood friend. I'm starting to have more confidence in being able to end this war, even thought it's being run by Crocodile. A shichibukai. The worst kind. To think that I was working for him for a year! I wish I had figured out what he was doing sooner, I would have killed him already.

Back to what was happening... We lost Ace, again. Just like the last time I saw him. But that's a different story. We continued inching our way to Yuba. The desert seemed cooler to me than yesterday, but no one else seemed to think so. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were still complaining. I didn't have enough energy to scold them. I got absolutely no sleep last night. But thats okay, I increased my range to cover the entire island. _As long as I'm protecting them, I could go without sleep for months. _I was still having trouble making it seem like I had energy. Memories of last nights conversation invading my thoughts.

_"__Why are you here?" I interrogated the man shoving a knife next to his throat. He stayed perfectly still, almost lifeless. He was tall, but plain. His eyes were covered by the hat that he wore. He spoke to me quietly. "We know you're secret, we know what you are capable of. And we __will__ come after you and your friends. And if you don't cooperate we will give you a choice…" He paused for a moment, staring. "Who do you want tortured first, Black Leg or Fire Fist?" My mind was racing with fear, not for myself, but for them. I could never let them get hurt. I tried to slice open the man's jugular artery, only to find him gone. The words, "We are coming." dancing on the wind._

I stared at the sand going over the memory, trying to figure out what they knew. They knew about my being a slave; did they find out about uranus? My heart rate quickened, panic coursing through my veins. I apparently wasn't keeping up a façade that hid me panic. I started whipping my head around searching for anyone that might break what little I had left. My eyes landed on the rest of the crew, their eyes reflecting my panicked state. Luffy walked up to me, I had fallen behind in the group, I hadn't noticed when I stopped walking. He was silent giving me a serious look. I just stared back at him, mentally kicking myself for letting my panic show through. He took my hand into one of his, "We will always be here." We locked eyes again in mutual understanding. Suddenly he broke out his famous grin and we started running, leaving the rest of the group behind. He ignore their calls still dragging me along. Only when the rest of the crew was out of sight did we stop, we had reached a town. He sat down under a palm tree, waiting for the rest of the crew to catch up, and gestured for me to come sit next to him. I did as asked. Plopping down in the sand.

"You can tell me about what had you panicked before if you want." His eyes were shaded by his hat, I couldn't see his expression. His concern apparent. I shook my head,_ I don't want them to get caught up in this mess, but… They already are, just by knowing me. DAMNIT! Why does this have to be so hard! Ugh, I guess he should know. _

_"_The government is after me." He kept his face calm, looking forward. "They threatened to kill Sanji and Ace if I don't cooperate with them… I don't know what to do." At this Luffy's face contorted into one of anger and fear, the same fear that I was feeling. The one of loosing his family. "I don't want any of you to get hurt." He turned to look at me, his anger quelled. "I have to turn myself in, if anything were to happen to any of you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. If I have to die for all of you, I will - gladly." I will never forget what Luffy said.

He turned to me, eyes flashing with so many emotions; anger, happiness, concern, fear. He put on a brave face, eyes glistening, "We will figure this out, all of us." He sat back down, pulling my head down to his shoulder. We sat like that for the longest time, and at some point both of us had fallen asleep. So the next thing we knew we were being woken up by the sound of a crying Vivi.

"Eh? Morning already?" I asked, Nami answered my question with a punch to the head and mumbling that it was around 7 o'clock. I looked up to see an old man being comforted by Vivi. In the end, Toto-san gave us a place to stay for the night. I was on the borders of sleep when I heard a pillow fight start. I opened my eyes to watch the fight unfold. They went on arguing and throwing for a few minutes, Sanji still trying to get Vivi into bed with him. _Ugh, honestly. That moron will never learn. _I let out a low chuckle, only for Luffy and Ace to notice that I wasn't asleep and gang up on me. Throwing pillows at me than tackling me on the bed. Pillow fight turned into tickle fight. I couldn't help but forget about everything that happened in the last 24 hours. I started to laugh hysterically, Ace and Luffy backed away to look at each other. They each had a mischievous glint in their eyes. Everyone had calmed down and were starting to get ready for bed. They hugged me from both sides saying, "We are family now. We will never leave your side." I didn't push them off me, they had already fallen asleep. I let the tears fall, I was so happy. _I have a family. That's all that matters. _After a few minutes, I fell asleep too.

_

_I was running. Everything stained in crimson. I was crying, holding a sword that had belonged to someone who was now dead. People were shooting at me from every direction. I turned into an alley, dead end. I turned around. I was staring into the eyes of Khora, the son of the man who owned me, back in the room that promised pain. That room was always dark, but always smelled sterile. He licked his lips, enjoying the scene of someone cowering in fear below him. He started to come at me with a scalpel. I knew what was coming next, I wanted none of it. But I couldn't move, I couldn't scream. Even if I did, no one would be there to rescue me. The scalpel drew closer, and closer - until finally it pierced skin, drawing the blade across my chest. _I woke up panting, covered in sweat. I could't move. It was still dark. I tried to free myself from whatever it was holding me down. I didn't know where I was. I felt someones grip on me tighten on either arm and straddling me. _No. This can't be happening. No. _"NO!" I screamed writhing, trying to get out of the grip. It wouldn't give. "No." I whispered, I couldn't control my emotions anymore. Hot tears burned their way down my face. _I can't escape. I'll never escape. _The light was flipped on. It wasn't Khora holding me down; it was Ace and Luffy. They were looking at me worriedly. What had just happened caught up to me. I pushed him off me. "I'm fine," I mumbled. "It was just a dream." Before anyone that was up could stop me, I walked out of the inn. I just kept walking. Until I was far enough away from the oasis, the inn, everything. I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry, run, fly, _something_, to get all of this out of my head.

**"****There's no way out. No way to forget,**" The voice chucked, "**Let me take over… that's the only way." **

"No, I will not let you take over. I will not let you kill them." I was still kneeling in the sand.

"**Just remember, the day ****_will _****when I take over. And there will be nothing you can do to stop me." **The voice slowly faded out of my head. Leaving it clear and calm. Until all of the repressed memories came flooding back, causing the migraine of all migraines.

After the sun had risen I made my way back to Yuba. Everyone was waiting, trying to act normal. I knew they were all worried though. I put on a smile to try to convince them that I was okay. Even though it barely worked, it made me feel better.

Our course was changed, so was out tactics. Instead of going all the way back to Katorea, we are heading straight into the belly of the beast. We were going to face Crocodile. _I get to see that bastard again, and exact my revenge! BWAHAHAHA! Ahem…. not like I was looking for it or anything….. Anyway…. _We were about a half hour into walking to Rain Base. Sanji seemed kinda down, _I hope he's okay._ Quickening my pace I catch up to him. "Hey, Sanji!" He never looked at me. Instead going to see if Nami or Vivi wanted any water. Twirling over to them like a moron.

"Nami-swan~! Vivi-chwan~! Do you need any water?" He swooned over them, it made me sick to see. _Is he avoiding me? _I looked down, trying to keep the hurt from crawling out.

I suddenly felt someone tug at my sleeve, "Chopper, 'sup?" I put on a smile, masking any pain. He smiled back at me.

"Oi! Chopper!" Zoro called. Chopper frowned.

"Zoro was being mean!" He whined. "Can I walk with you?" Back to his cheery ways, he looked up at me with pleading eyes. I nodded, picking him up and putting him on my shoulders. He was really light. We walked for a few moments in silence. I had nearly forgotten that he was there until I felt something really cold on my back. I yelped in surprise. "Sorry!" Chopper yelled.

"Tha hell was that for?!" He cringed back looking hurt, "Sorry, Chupper. I didn't mean to sound angry, I was just startled." I gave him an apologetic smile. He nodded.

"You kinda scared us this morning," His hat shaded his eyes. "You were screaming." My eyes widened, _Oh shit. I didn't realize they were still that bad. _"You said something too…" He paused, unsure of wether to continue. "You said, _No, don't take them. They can't go through what I did. Don't take my family." _

_

A/N: Oh My God! I am so sorry about how late this is! I've just had so much shit going on, with starting school and swimming, and random ass drama at school. Ugh. And this chapter didn't turn out as long as I had hoped. To make it up to you, I will probably be posting some kind of One shot along with another chapter this week. I also am very sorry for any grammatical errors you may find. Please point them out. And **don't forget to review! **

**_This is a reply to Ice: _**No I am not Japanese, I didn't mean for anyone to think that I was. And I know that that name isn't Japanese, It just sounded really cool in my opinion.

Sorry if anything confused anyone! I am NOT Japanese….. I wish I was. Nah, I'm just some random American who was bored one day so she started to come up with an alternate personality and write a story about her in the world of One Piece.

So I'm not going to end this in Japanese anymore, since that confused some people.

Se Ya! Don't forget to review!


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